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Research vessels
Ship as a Service (SaaS), based in Lorient, has added two vessels to its fleet. The Sterenn Norzh (200 GT – 24 m), acquired in November, is the former British vessel Norsemaid from Holyhead Towing, built by Schottel Nederland in 1984. Sterenn Atlas is the name to be given to the former buoy tender Atlantique (374 GT – 43 m) which SaaS purchased in July with a view to converting it into an oceanographic and subsea work vessel. A former tuna seiner, the Saint Antoine Marie II built by Piriou in 2004, it was purchased in 2012 by the Phares et Balises (Lighthouse and Buoy Authority) and returned to service in 2015 as the Atlantique following extensive conversions. It has been in Lorient since July 13th to be adapted for its new missions.
The sailing vessel Persévérance from Septième Continent (Jean-Louis Etienne), originally designed to resupply the Polar Pod drifting station whose construction is currently pending, is now assigned to scientific research focused on the Southern Ocean.
Destined for the French Oceanographic Fleet (FOF) operated by Ifremer, the only vessel currently on order, the Anita Conti (770 GT – 45 m), launched on July 9, 2025, by the Spanish shipyard Freire in Vigo, has seen its commissioning postponed until the end of 2026, allowing for the extended operation of the Thalia, which it is set to succeed. As part of the preparations for its fleet renewal, Ifremer is testing the compatibility of wind-assisted propulsion with the execution of oceanographic missions; to this end, the catamaran Morskoul (1996 – 15 m) belonging to the Skravik cooperative was selected to carry out eight coastal scientific campaigns from May to September (42 days at sea). The Ifremer subsidiary, Genavir, has taken over the management of the Belgian scientific vessel Belgica (2021 – 3,722 GT – 71 m) from the Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo) and, in February, won the management contract for the offshore vessels (Alfred Merlin and André Malraux) of the Department of Underwater and Undersea Archaeological Research (Drassm).
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